GDS Data Centres Said Considering China REIT IPO and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

A pair of Chinese data centres leads today’s Christmas review of real estate headlines from around Asia as GDS gears up for a mainland IPO while one of its rivals looks for a listing on a US exchange. Defaulting developer Shimao Holdings also makes the list with a fresh effort to sell a Hong Kong mega-hotel.

Mainland Data Centre Operator GDS Said Considering China REIT IPO

GDS Holdings Ltd. is considering an initial public offering for a real estate investment trust of its data center assets in China, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Chinese company is working with advisers to sound out initial interest in a potential share sale that could raise about RMB 1 billion ($140 million), the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. Read more>>

Chinese Data Centre Operator Said Aiming for US IPO After Failing at Home

Yovole is considering an initial public offering in the US, people familiar with the matter said, years after the Chinese data center operator’s failed attempt to list in mainland China.

The company, which is backed by Beijing-based alternative asset manager CDH Investments, is working with an adviser on a potential first-time share sale that may help it raise more than $100 million, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter. Yovole may consider submitting a confidential filing with US regulators as soon as in January, the people said. Read more>>

Shimao Cuts Asking Price for Hong Kong Hotel as Cash Crisis Drags On

Defaulted Chinese developer Shimao Group Holdings Ltd. has slashed the asking price for a Sheraton-branded hotel property near Hong Kong’s airport by a quarter, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Shimao, once one of China’s biggest developers, is looking to sell the 18-story property in Tung Chung for at least HK$4.5 billion ($579 million), the person said, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter. Known for developing five-star hotels as landmark projects, Shimao opened this lodging in 2020. Read more>>

Fitch Downgrades Wanda Units on Distressed Debt Deal

Fitch Ratings has downgraded Dalian Wanda Commercial Management Group Co., Ltd.’s and Wanda Commercial Properties (Hong Kong) Co. Limited’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Ratings to ‘RD’ from ‘C’ on completion of the distressed debt exchange, in accordance with the distressed debt exchange section in Fitch’s Corporate Rating Criteria.

Fitch has simultaneously upgraded the IDRs to ‘CC’ from ‘RD’, reflecting Wanda Commercial’s post-restructuring profile. Fitch has also affirmed the ratings on the US dollar notes guaranteed by Wanda HK and issued by Wanda Commercial’s subsidiaries at ‘C’ with a Recovery Rating of ‘RR5’. Read more>>

Singapore Condo Resale Prices Rose 1.2% in November

Prices for condominium resale transactions rebounded in November against a seasonal drop in volumes, according to the latest flash report by SRX and 99.co.

Month on month, overall prices increased by 1.2 percent even as resale volumes fell 5.8 percent to an estimated 1,023 units. Luqman Hakim, chief data and analytics officer at 99.co, said that this demonstrated a “positive shift” in the resale market, given October’s price decline. Read more>>

Retail Rents Expected to Rise as Singapore Heads into 2025

Singapore’s prime retail rents islandwide are expected to have risen between 2 and 4 percent for the whole of 2024, driven by tourism recovery and expansion of foreign food and beverage (F&B) brands.

But as the city’s retail trade normalises from its pandemic lows, the outlook for 2025 appears uncertain, hinging on tourist and domestic consumption spending. Between January and October 2024, Singapore saw 13.9 million visitor arrivals, up from 11.3 million in the same period last year. Read more>>

Private Equity Firms Trapped in China as IPO Flow Restricted

The world’s biggest private equity groups have been unable to sell or list their China-based portfolio companies this year, as Beijing’s crackdown on initial public offerings and a slowing economy leave foreign investors’ capital trapped in the country.

Among the 10 largest global private equity groups with operations in China, there is no record of any having listed a Chinese company this year or fully sold their stake through an M&A deal, figures from Dealogic show. Read more>>

India’s OYO Completes Acquisition of Motel 6 From Blackstone

Hospitality firm Oyo has completed the acquisition of the US-based lodging franchisor G6 Hospitality, the parent company of Motel 6 and Studio 6 brands, from Blackstone Real Estate for $525 million, adding approximately 1,500 franchised hotels across the US and Canada to its portfolio.

Oyo had announced its plans to acquire G6 Hospitality on September 20. The acquisition is expected to boost the hospitality major’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) to over INR 20 billion ($234 million) in FY26, Oyo said in a statement on Monday. Read more>>

China’s Hukou System Seen Fueling Population Decline

Even as China’s leaders have looked for ways to lift sagging birthrates, Beijing thought there was one group who would always want to have many children: rural couples.

They were wrong. Research suggests that rural migrant workers have severe reservations about starting a family. And a big reason appears to be China’s household-registration system, which since the 1950s has divided the population into rural or urban and makes it hard for rural workers to take their children with them. Read more>>

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